Before the price conversation, the approval conversation.
CAR-T, stem cell therapy, therapeutic cancer vaccines, BNCT. These are the treatments people fly to Boao for, and the ones where “it is available in Boao” is most often used loosely. This service checks the legal status first, the hospital second, and the price last.
Why this service exists
Advanced therapy is the part of medical travel with the widest gap between what is advertised and what is approved. The same phrase — “stem cell therapy in Boao” — can describe four very different things: an approved drug, a Boao clinical-translation project, a registered clinical trial, or something that should not be sold to you at all.
Our job is to put your specific question into one of those boxes, in writing, with the source. Not to sell you the treatment on the other side of it.
A registered clinical trial cannot charge you for the investigational product. If someone quotes a price for a therapy and calls it “clinical research”, that is the first thing to check. Legitimate trials have a protocol number, an ethics approval, and a consent process — not an invoice.
The four categories, and what each means for you
| Category | What it means | Can you be charged? |
|---|---|---|
| NMPA-approved | The drug or device is approved for marketing in China for a stated indication | Yes — you pay the hospital, at the approved price |
| Boao clinical translation | A licensed product or technology used under the pilot zone's real-world/translation pathway, with a filed project | Yes, with a filed project and hospital invoice |
| Registered clinical trial (IND) | A study with a protocol, sponsor, and ethics approval | No charge for the investigational product; some trial costs may be covered or billed |
| Investigator-initiated trial (IIT) | An academic study at a qualifying tertiary hospital, dual-filed | No — charging for an IIT is a red line |
There are separate legal routes outside Boao — the Greater Bay Area pilot, Beidaihe, and ordinary hospital use of approved products. They have different rules. We tell you which route applies to your case, not which one is convenient.
Read the full status explanation →
The therapies people ask about most
CAR-T
CAR-T is an approved therapy in China for specified haematological indications, delivered at hospitals with the required capability. It is not a general cancer treatment, it is not offered for solid tumours as routine care, and eligibility is decided by the treating haematologist after review. The relevant questions are: which product, which indication, which hospital is certified to administer it, and what the approved price is. We verify those four.
Type 2 diabetes stem cell therapy
This is the most heavily marketed item and the one where status varies most. Depending on the project, it may be a Boao translation project with a filed protocol and a defined eligibility window, or a clinical study, or something being sold without either. There is no approved “stem cell cure for diabetes”. Anyone promising discontinuation of insulin should be treated as a warning, not a lead.
Therapeutic cancer vaccines
Therapeutic vaccines for eligible cancer patients are a different thing from preventive vaccination of healthy people. We will only work on the therapeutic question, and only where a filed project and a named institution exist. We do not arrange preventive “anti-cancer injections” for healthy clients — see our FAQ on this.
BNCT
Boron neutron capture therapy is available at a very small number of centres, including Pengbo BNCT in our network, with head and neck indications as the main current use. Eligibility is narrow and decided by the treating team after imaging review. Cost and scheduling are case-specific and should never be quoted before the imaging is seen.
What the screening produces
| Output | Content |
|---|---|
| Status note | Which of the four categories your therapy falls into, with the source document or filing reference |
| Institution note | Which hospital in the network can legally provide it, and whether they currently do |
| Eligibility pre-check | Whether your records suggest you are plausibly in scope — as a question for the hospital, not an answer from us |
| Cost route | Who invoices you, for what, and which parts are hospital fees versus our fee |
| Red flags | Anything in the offer that does not match the status — pricing to a personal account, no filing reference, “guaranteed” language |
What we will not do
- We will not tell you a therapy will work, or that it is your best option.
- We will not arrange treatment that has no filed project or approval route.
- We will not accept payment for hospital treatment into our account.
- We will not work with a provider who asks you to pay a hospital fee to a personal account, or who cannot produce a filing reference.
- We will not arrange stem cell therapy for healthy people for anti-ageing purposes.
Common questions
Is everything advertised in Boao actually approved?
No. Boao has a real approval pathway for licensed products and technologies, which is exactly why it attracts offers that stretch the wording. The pathway existing does not mean a specific clinic's specific offer sits inside it. That is what the status check is for.
Can you get me into a clinical trial?
We can identify whether an open trial matches your case and route your records to the investigators. Enrollment is their decision, against protocol criteria, and cannot be bought.
How much does CAR-T cost in China?
It is priced per approved product and per hospital, and it is a self-pay item for most international patients. We do not publish a number here because a figure without the product name and indication is misleading. We get the hospital's written price for your specific case.
What if my case is not eligible?
Then you have saved the cost of a trip. A negative screening result is a valid outcome, and we will say it plainly rather than routing you to something adjacent that is easier to sell.
Do you take a commission from the hospital?
No. Our fee is paid by you, disclosed in writing, and separate from the hospital invoice. That is the only structure in which a “no” is financially neutral for us.
What this costs
An assessment fee before work begins, quoted after we know which therapy and which records are involved. Hospital treatment fees are separate and paid directly to the hospital. If a case turns out to be out of scope, we tell you before the expensive part starts.
Name the therapy. We will check the status.
Tell us the treatment name, the indication, and where you saw it advertised. We will tell you what it actually is, and whether it can legally be provided to you in Boao.